The Laws of Love
by Jezebel26
Summary: Emma Swan, law student, was busy mending her broken heart when a chance meeting at a party changed her life forever. She thought she knew the laws of love, but this handsome stranger will show her that some laws are meant to be broken. AU CaptainSwan, with some Emma/other. Rated M for later chapters and language
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! This is my first time writing fanfiction in general, but I feel like this ship needed to be explored in a more fulfilling way. I hope you enjoy the story, and please feel free to leave a review! **

* * *

Emma rushed into her apartment, flinging her coat and her purse into the recliner by the door. She had stayed later at the school than she had intended, and was now in the exact position she wanted to avoid in the first place. It was Halloween, and her friend Ruby, always adventurous, decided that they needed to go to a costume party at one of the clubs downtown. It had taken some coaxing, with lofty promises of alcohol and takeout, but Ruby managed to win Emma over, and convinced her to come.

Emma groaned at the thought of all the work she would have to do. Ruby had picked out her costume - a blue and silver dress and a tiara - and she knew that she would need to pull together some miracle with her hair and makeup in a manner of the princess she was going to be dressing as. She quickly jumped in the shower. She let the the hot water roll over her skin and she sighed, the stress of the day washing away. She sighed as she wished that she hadn't let Ruby talk her into this party. After the stress of class today and the meetings she had with her professors, she just wanted to have a glass of wine and curl up on the couch with a movie.

She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the cool tile. This was the first time she had been out since _that night._ It had been months since then, and she didn't know if she could face a crowd of people tonight. However, she knew that Ruby would be disappointed if she didn't join her, especially after all the work she put into getting everything ready for them. She pulled her head back and let the water wash over her face. The warm water did wonders for her mood, and she decided that she would not let her friend down.

She finished up her shower, wrapping a towel around her body as she stepped into her bathroom. She glanced at herself in the mirror and saw that haggard woman before her. She realized that in order to achieve the fresh faced, dewy look of a princess, it would take a lot of work. She combed through her hair with a brush, deciding on how it needed to be done. She figured "up" would be the easiest and most time efficient. A knock at the door broke her reverie, and she padded quickly to see who it was.

She looked through the peephole and saw Ruby standing on the other side. She opened the door to let her in. She started walking back to the bathroom when Ruby screamed in shock. "Emma! We have to leave in 20 minutes and you look like you just got out of the shower! What the hell have you been doing?"

"Ruby," Emma started. "I just got home about fifteen minutes ago. I had to wrap some stuff up at school." She knew that her excuse would fall flat with Ruby. She was having none of it right now. Emma knew all too well what the look on her face meant, and swiftly retreated into the confines of her bedroom.

"Emma! I told you what time you needed to be ready by!" Ruby shouted. She stomped towards the bedroom and flung the door open. Luckily, Emma had already managed to get her underwear put on, and did not have to face Ruby's wrath completely naked. Ruby walked over to the vanity and started rummaging through drawers. She pulled out several cosmetic items, as well as a hair supplies. She turned back towards Emma and silently motioned for her to come. Emma sighed in defeat as she sat in the chair at the vanity, with Ruby grumbling under her breath about her lack of consideration for other people.

"Ruby, I am sorry I was late." Ruby pursed her lips and made fast work of her hair, drying it and pinning it back in an elegant up-do. "It's fine, Emma. Let's just get going, okay?" Ruby gave her a quick smile, showing her that the anger from earlier had already vanished. She was grateful that Ruby didn't hold grudges.

Emma started on the makeup, setting for a much demure, natural look than Ruby's bold look. Emma surmised that she was Red Riding Hood, but her outfit was incredibly short and strapless. It included the trademark red cloak, but it was just as short as her outfit and made out of a shiny satin material. Ruby paired it off with a pair of impossibly high platforms, and a bright red lipstick. Her long black hair was hanging in waves of curls down her back. Emma was a bit jealous that her friend looked so effortlessly beautiful, but Ruby was more than just a pretty face. She had a vivacious personality, so effusive that Emma had wondered how they even ended up friends in the first place.

Ruby was just finishing up her hair as she applied the final touches to her makeup. After she was done, Ruby walked away to grab her dress. Emma turned to see the masterful job that Ruby had done on her hair. She hardly recognized herself, and with tiara she was starting to feel like a princess. Ruby returned with her dress and helped her into it. Emma turned her around and Ruby gave her the once over, smiling and nodding in approval. "Oh yeah, you make a great princess," she said.

Emma looked at herself in the full length mirror next to her bed. The dress was incredibly form fitting, and almost as short as Ruby's, with long sleeves and a very low back. The whole thing was covered in blue and silver sequins that shone even in the dim light of her room. She admitted to herself that she looked good, but she didn't see how this was supposed to make her a princess.

"Ruby, I don't look very much like a princess," she said.

"Well, of course. Not in the traditional sense at least. But you look hot and we're going to have a blast!" Ruby smiled and handed Emma a pair of black stilettos that she had pulled out of her closet. "Here, put these on, and we'll be ready to go!"

Emma slid the shoes over her feet and started walking towards the door. Ruby came out of the room with a small black clutch. She gave Emma a quick smile and a thumbs up as she walked towards the door. Emma followed her out the door, and hoped that she would at least make it through the evening tonight alive.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, their cab pulled up to the front of a club called _The White Rabbit_. It was already teeming with people, even though it was still fairly early. They got out of the car and walked towards the front of the line. Emma looked nervously at the queue of people, wondering how long they would have to wait to get in. Ruby had walked directly to the bouncer, smiling flirtatiously and putting her assets to good use. The bouncer dropped the rope and motioned them in, much to the chagrin of the other party goers in line.

The club itself was full of people dancing, not leaving much room to maneuver the crowd. Ruby told Emma to go to the bar to pick up the drinks while she found a table. The line at the bar was just as long as the one outside. Emma managed to push her way past most of the people crowding around the bar tenders, and found a spot right up front. Within minutes she ordered her drinks - a rum and coke for Ruby, and a vodka soda for herself.

With her drinks in hand, she made her way across the club in the direction that Ruby had gone. She found her at a small table to the right of the dance floor, looking grateful that she had shown up with the alcohol. Emma started scanning the crowd looking for anyone that may seem familiar. Seeing no one she knew, she turned back to Ruby who was already chatting up some guy dressed as a scientist. He led her away from the table to the dance floor, leaving Emma alone with her drink.

Emma watched her friend flit from partner to partner on the dance floor for a time. She was envious of Ruby's ability to attract men - they always seemed to gravitate towards her, whereas Emma was constantly guarded and closed off. If a man were somehow able to avoid the giant "Fuck Off" written on her forehead, they would never be able to withstand her scathing tongue and her apparent lack of interest in pursuits dealing with the opposite sex.

It's not like she wasn't interested; she just had a lot of things on her plate right now. Law school was very demanding and she needed to focus on her studies. Plus, she was still trying to get over _him._ She tried to think about him sparingly, but it was times like now that his face permeated her thoughts. She quickly downed her drink and made her way back to the bar.

They seemed to have let more people in the club on her trek back to the bar. The crowd swarmed her as she tried to make her way across. Suddenly, a hand closed around her wrist and she turned abruptly to see who it was. Her eyes widened in shock when recognized the face of the man standing before her.

"Hello Emma. Long time, no see." He grinned at her.

"Neal. What are you doing here?" His sudden presence took her by surprise. She was just thinking about him and he just materialized right in front of her. He moved closer to her, and she felt herself getting nervous.

"I'm here having a good time. Same as you, I suppose. How are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while." His thumb began stroking her hand. She quickly pulled it out of his grasp and took a step back away from him. She glared at him for what seemed like seconds, and then she unleashed all of the pent up anger she held back for the last year.

"Yeah, well, there was a reason behind that. Tell me, how is Tamara these days? You still fucking her?" The venom in her voice was thick and Neal visibly blanched.

"Emma, I stopped seeing her a while ago. I realized that she wasn't what I wanted, and I knew that you were," he stated.

"Are you kidding me right now? Neal, _you cheated on me with her._ What did you think would happen if you saw me again? Did you think that I would just come running back?" She was shaking with anger. As much as she had loved him, she now felt just as much anger and hatred towards him.

"I don't know what I thought, Emma! I just know that I thought she was a lot more fun than you were. You were always so wrapped up in your studies, it felt like I didn't even exist to you half the time." he pleaded with her, his eyes earnest. He grabbed her hands again, hold them firm. She pulled away from him, disgusted.

"And that gives you the right to do what you did?" she shrilled, her chest heaving. "You know what? I don't even care what excuses you have to tell me. Just leave me alone, asshole."

She turned around and stomped away from him to the bar. Luckily, the line had died down and she ordered three shots of vodka. The bartender gave her a strange look, but shrugged it off as he prepared the drinks. She downed them almost as quickly as he set them before her. She motioned for him to keep them coming, as she sat fuming at the bar.

* * *

Ruby found her a while later standing in circle of men, flirting with anyone that bought her a drink. She was laughing and giggling, teetering on her heels as she grabbed the shirt of the man closet to her. Shocked, Ruby pulled her away from the group and down to a secluded corner of the club. "What the hell are you doing, Emma? How many drinks have you had tonight?"

"Oh, I dunno. A few?" Emma started giggling again, grabbing onto Ruby's shoulder to steady herself. "It was all because of stupid Neal."

"Oh Emma, I thought you were over that." Ruby tried to hold her friend up, but she was swaying back and forth. "Why are you even worried about him now?"

"Well, apparently, he decided to come out of the woodwork and show up here. I can be fun, you know. I can party and do shots like the rest of them. Fuck him. I can do whatever I want." Emma was speaking more to herself than to the concerned girl that was standing in front of her. She was seething with anger at Neal, about him cheating on her, about him saying that she wasn't fun, that the skank he cheated on her with was, and about him being here tonight.

She glanced over at his table and saw that he was still staring at her. She couldn't believe it that he was still here. She could feel the anger boiling inside her and all she could think about was wiping that smug look off his face.

"You know what? I'm going to show Neal Cassidy just who he's fucking dealing with." She walked back to the line at the other end of the bar. She found a guy standing there wearing a long black leather coat and he had a hook for his left hand. She walked straight up to him and swung him around to face her. She only had a second to see his face before she grabbed his lapels and planted her lips against his. She felt his sharp intake of breath, and began to deepen the kiss. She fisted her hands in his coat and pressed her lips harder against his.

The shock started wearing off and she felt him kissing her back. He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her against him. She could feel the lean and hard muscle of his body flush with hers. She felt the hook he was weilding cold across the open flesh of her back. The shock of the cool metal against her skin instantly penetrated her alcohol addled brain and she quickly disentangled herself from his arms.

She took a step back, breathing heavily as she turned and looked at Neal. He was glaring at her from his table. He finished his drink, grabbed his coat and walked towards the exit. She smiled with satisfaction at his departure. _Serves him right_ she thought.

She turned back to the man she just accosted. He was staring at her, breathing just as heavily as she was. She noted that he was incredibly handsome, with a dark stubbly beard and a smirk that made her heart flutter. He was also probably the only man alive that could make eyeliner look good.

She stood staring at him for what seemed like an eternity. She felt the world spinning around her, but she didn't know if it was from the alcohol or the incredible kiss she just shared with this stranger. She grabbed the bar and steadied herself, trying to get in control of her breathing, her stare never wavering. He finally cleared his throat, and when he spoke, she felt like she was going to melt right where she stood. She would later swear that it wasn't his thick brogue that made her lightheaded.

"Hello lass." he said, with that impossibly handsome smirk. "Fancy telling me what that was all about?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Here is part two! Hope you enjoy! Please review!**

* * *

Killian groaned as he shielded his eyes from the sun that was pouring through his window. He was definitely feeling the after effects of the alcohol that was consumed the night before. He silently willed the pounding in his head to cease, to no avail. His stomach was still a bit queasy, and needed to get some food in him, or he would be in a worse state than he was presently.

He rolled over and glanced at the clock on his night stand – 1:26 PM. He swore as he tossed back the covers and darted to the bathroom. Jefferson would kill him if he was late again to practice. _So much for breakfast_ he thought.

He stripped himself of his clothes, disgusted with himself for falling asleep in yesterday's outfit. He quickly washed up in an effort to make himself at least somewhat less offensive. He finished in record time, and made a mad dash throughout his apartment attempting to find clothing that wasn't dirty. He found a plain grey t-shirt folded up on his laundry basket. He smelled it for a bit and decided it was clean enough to wear. He spied a pair of jeans hanging off his dresser, grabbing them and pulling them on as he started walking towards the door. He slung the strap to his guitar over his shoulder and made his way into the street.

He all but ran the 15 blocks to the practice space that they rented. He walked through the door to the small soundproofed room, and saw that both Jefferson and August were already there. He looked at the clock on the wall, and was surprised to see that he was still five minutes early. "Oi! Lads! How is it that even when I'm early, you're still here before me?" He grinned.

Jefferson looked up from the mix board that he had hooked up on the far side of the room. He saw Killian standing in the doorway and rolled his eyes. "Well, unlike _some_ people, I don't consider five minutes early," he said, the irritation evident in his voice. "Plus someone has to get here to set all of this up, and we all know that you would probably fry us with your lack of technical skills." He went back to working on the mix board.

Killian sighed as he set his guitar down on floor. Jefferson was already in one of his moods, which meant that this practice was going to be rough. Killian braced himself for Jefferson's perfectionism to be on overdrive today. August had already set up the drum kit in the back, and was tweaking the cymbals. He pulled his guitar out of the case and quickly plugged into the amp. He waited for Jefferson to give him the okay, and started strumming a few chords. Jefferson adjusted the levels on the mix board and then proceeded onto August, who tapped a few beats on each of his drums before getting a thumbs up.

Jefferson walked out from behind the mix board and placed the strap of his bass over his shoulder. He was wearing a scowl, and Killian and August exchanged knowing looks. Jefferson had finished tuning his guitar and was motioning for them to round up. "Alright guys, I managed to get us a show tomorrow night at this club called _The Jolly Roger_ next week. I guess the figured that since we were The Lost Boys, it would be fitting. Let's try to avoid screwing up this practice, so we don't fuck this show up."

"Not much of a pep talk, mate." Killian smirked towards their commander in chief. Jefferson glared at him before launching into the beginning bass part of a song. Killian and August immediately followed suit, and before long, they were deep in their rehearsal.

* * *

A few hours later, they were lounging around discussing a possible set list for the show next week. Killian was glad that Jefferson had seemed too involved in the show to nitpick about the insignificant details of their rehearsal. He seemed to be in much better spirits than he was earlier, and he and August had moved on to talking about their plans for the night.

Killian was barely listening to the conversation, absentmindedly strumming notes on his guitar. He guessed that August and Jefferson were talking about some Halloween party that night as a club down town. He wasn't one for dressing up, preferring to be in a t-shirt and jeans, but it was definitely something that Jefferson advocated. Killian had lost count the number of times that Jefferson had shown up to a show with wild hair, and an equally eccentric outfit.

"Hey Jones. You in tonight?" August asked. Killian looked up at the drummer and shook his head. He was still a bit queasy from the night before and his head still hadn't stopped hurting. August frowned at him. "Aww come on man. It's supposed to be one of the best parties of the year. You know this place is going to be crawling with scantily clad women. It _is_ Halloween, after all."

Killian's chuckled under his breath. He knew was August was doing, baiting him with promises of half naked women. It was no secret that Killian had a bit of a reputation as a ladies man and a heart breaker. He knew what kind of effect he had on the opposite sex, and used that to his advantage as often as he could. That didn't mean that he would play dress up for the night.

"No can do, mate. I plan on spending the night on my couch with a good movie."

"That sounds dull as hell," August stated. "Tell you what, you come out with us tonight, and I'll cover your tab."

Killian mulled it over. It wasn't like him to turn down free booze, especially at August's expense. He was the only one out of the three of them that had managed to find a day job worth something. Jefferson worked retail and was miserable doing so, whereas Killian had only managed to find odd jobs here and there. He made enough to get buy, but August was a writer, and managed to land a job at one of the newspapers. Killian smiled at his friend.

"Alright, I'm in."

* * *

They arrived at the club a little after ten, and it was already packed to the brim. The line outside was just as long. Killian groaned at the thought of standing in line for what was looking to be a few hours. He was already uncomfortable due to the outfit that he was wearing. After rehearsal, they had gone back to Jefferson's apartment. Killian figured if there was any where in New York that he could find a costume on the night of Halloween, it would be in Jefferson's closet.

Jefferson managed to scrounge up a black linen shirt and an old pair of leather pants to go with the coat that had for special occassions. The coat screamed "pirate" and Killian figured that was as good as anything. Jefferson even had a hook from another costume, and Killian thought it was the perfect look for the swashbuckling Captain Hook.

By the time they had made it to the front of the line, the bouncer had announced that they were at capacity, and they would have to wait for people to leave before they would be allowed in. Annoyed, Killian turned back to his friends and cursed under his breath. He should have known better than to agree with August's shenanigans. He and Jefferson were speaking animatedly about the new song he was working on, paying no mind to Killian's irritation.

At that moment, he saw two girls walking towards the front of the line. One was obviously dressed like Red Riding Hood, although her outfit left little to the imagination. Her friend, he supposed, was a princess. Red had sauntered up to the bouncer, and started whispering in his ear, while the princess stood by looking uncomfortably at the long queue. Much to his annoyance and the rest of the people in line, the bouncer let them directly into the club. He pinched the bridge of his nose and resolved to kill August once the night was over.

* * *

Killian had almost reached his breaking point when the bouncer had cleared the opening for him and his friends. He made a beeline for the bar, intending on making good on August's promise. He ordered two shots of rum and threw them back in rapid succession. He hoped that the alcohol would relax him, so that he could maybe enjoy the night a little bit. August and Jefferson were still talking about the new song, and Killian leaned against the bar and let the alcohol work its way through his system.

A few shots later, Killian had joined the conversation between August and Jefferson, offering his own input on the new song. Their music had always been a collaborative effort, and he enjoyed these conversations with his band mates. The alcohol had slowly worked its way through the system, and he had a fairly good buzz going.

"Man, there are a lot of hot women here tonight," August pointed out. Killian did a quick scan of the room, and agreed. Most of the women were dressed in some of the skimpiest outfits. Killian knew if he worked his magic the right way, he could avoid having to sleep alone tonight.

He was just about say something in response, when he felt himself whipped around, and someone planted their lips against his. His breathed in sharply, not sure how to react. He glanced and saw eyes that were closed tightly, and the smell of vanilla perfume ensnared his senses. He saw golden curls framing the face, and decided that if a woman wanted to kiss him, he would be more than obliging.

He relaxed into this kiss, and felt her deepen it, pressing her lips hard against his. He pulled her body flush with his, wrapping his arms around her petite waist. He felt her gasp when his hook hit her back, and she abruptly pulled away.

He stared at her breathing heavily. He recognized her as the girl standing with her Red Riding Hood friend outside the club. She was breathing just as hard as he was, and her faced was flushed. He found her quite becoming - her dress outlined the curves of her body, and accentuated her long, shapely legs. Killian could only be so lucky to have such a beautiful woman accompany him home, and after such an earth shattering kiss, he knew it would only be a matter of minutes before he could seal the deal.

After a few moments of silence, he cleared his throat and spoke. "Hello lass. Fancy telling me what that was all about?" His lips quirked into a smirk, and he thought he had seen her sway just a fraction of an inch. She continued to stare, and opened her mouth as if to say something. But then, she did something that Killian never expected.

She ran away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Everyone! I want to thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for the wonderful reviews. You have certainly made me one happy author! Here's chapter 3. :)**

* * *

Emma quickly ran out of the club, her head swimming. The alcohol she had consumed clouded her mind and blurred her vision. She didn't fully recognize where she was, but she knew she needed to get out of there, and fast, in case that guy decided that he needed to find her for round two. She walked towards the end of the street, stumbling slightly. She knew that she shouldn't have had all of the shots she had consumed tonight, and knew that she would be feeling it in the morning. She rounded the corner at the end of the block, and made her way down the street and away from the club.

Once she was out of sight of the entrance, she hailed a cab and made her way back to her apartment. She felt dizzy looking at all the lights on the street as the cab drove away from the club. She groaned as she wrapped her arms around the back of her neck, bringing her forehead to rest on her knees. Thankfully, the ride was short and she made it back to her apartment without incident. She paid the driver and staggered her way up the stairs to her apartment.

Not bothering to turn on any lights, she stripped her dress off, and pulled out the countless number of pins holding her hair in place. She threw the tiara on the dresser, and kicked her shoes to an unkown location across the room. She crawled into bed, and closed her eyes, trying to block out the spinning world around her.

After some time, she finally felt like the room was still, and she drifted off into a restless slumber, her thoughts permeated by a sinfully attractive pirate.

* * *

Back at the club, Killian felt rooted to the spot. He stared incredulously at the spot where that woman had stood. Before he even had a chance to introduce himself, she bolted, disappearing into the crowd. Her Red Riding Hood friend had followed closely behind her. Killian just stared dumbfoundedly as he watched both of them go.

He touched his fingers to his lips. _That was one hell of a kiss_ he thought. A woman who kissed like that was surely a wildcat in the bedroom. She had poured so much passion into a kiss with a complete stranger, and he was finding himself wondering how she would be with a lover. He was all to aware of the tightness of his leather pants, and knew that he needed to have this woman in his bed.

He made his way in the direction of the two, hoping that he could catch up with them. He found himself at the entrance and made his way into the street. The queue for the club had died down considerably, and he looked both ways before resigning himself to the fact that he had no bloody idea where they went. He cursed under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing as he realized that he missed out on a perfectly good opportunity with one hell of a woman.

He made his way back into the club to rejoin his friends. Perhaps he could find some leggy burnette to take his mind off the mystery princess. He would definitely enjoy some help with the current predicament that damned wench left him in.

* * *

Emma woke the next morning, her head throbbing and her mouth dry. She could taste bile on her tongue. Her stomach rumbled unpleasantly as she stood to get a drink of water. No sooner than she had left her bed, her stomach twisted violently and she felt the all too familiar feeling of nausea. She ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before last night's mistakes came bubbling out of her mouth.

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she continued to get sick time and again. She couldn't remember all what happened the night before, but since she obviously was alone in her apartment, she figured that she made it back without too much trouble. She wiped her forehead with a wet cloth, hoping the cool water would help ease the warmess she felt. She looked at her toothbrush, wishing that she could wash away the taste in her mouth, but past experience had taught her that toothpaste was something to be avoided in her position.

She padded slowly back to her bedroom. The sun was peeking through the slit between her curtains. She looked around her room and realized that she had haphazardly thrown the pieces of her costume around. She searched through the mess to find the black clutch that Ruby had given her before they left. She opened it and found her phone. She pressed a button, and the bright screen lit up the room. Emma shielded her eyes in order to give them time to adjust.

Emma frowned as she realized that there were a number of calls, texts and voicemails from Ruby. After reading the texts and listening to a few of the voicemails, Emma realized that she had left Ruby at the club by herself. Ruby was pissed, and rightfully so. Emma knew that Ruby wouldn't have just let her go. She realized that Ruby probably spent most of the night trying to get in touch with her, worried about her friend's safety. The voicemails got progressively more angry until Ruby finally said that she was going home, and if Emma wanted to remain friends she would call her the instant she got the messages.

Emma was trying to piece together the night before, struggling to fill in the gaps in her memory. She remembered Ruby dancing with the guy dressed as a doctor, and she remembered feeling lonely. And then she remembered Neal.

Emma frowned, recalling that Neal had shown up for the party as well. She remembered that he had said something about still loving her and knowing that she was the one. And she remembered promptly visiting the bar after that. She deduced that Neal was probably the reason why she was currently nursing a hangover.

She couldn't remember much after that, just bits and pieces here and there. She remembered there being a lot of guys around her, and being overly flirtatious with them as they bought her drinks. She had reveled in the attention they paid her. She couldn't clearly remember their faces, but in all truthfulness, it didn't matter. She would have never sought any one of them out after last night.

Someone pounded on the door. She could hear Ruby's voice yelling at her to open up from the other side. Emma found her bathrobe and wrapped her around her body as she made her way to the door. Despite feeling terrible, she knew that it was better to face Ruby now than to wait until later.

Emma barely had a chance to open the door before Ruby pushed her away inside, yelling about Emma's apparent lack of regard for anyone else besides herself. Emma hung her head in shame, knowing that Ruby was right, and drunkeness was not excuse that Ruby wanted to hear.

"Emma, I cannot believe you. I have been up all night worried sick. I had no idea where you went. You just ran right out of the club and I couldn't find you! You weren't answering your phone! This is New York for fuck's sake! You could have been dead in a ditch for all I know!"

Emma dared not look in Ruby's eyes, knowing the anger that they held. She knew that she was in the wrong and knew that she needed to set things right. If the past 10 years of friendship had taught her anything about Ruby, it was that groveling was always necessary to get on her good side.

"Ruby, I'm sorry that I left you alone at the club and for not answering my phone," Emma started. She knew that the quicker she apologized, the quicker Ruby would be back to normal and she could go back to bed.

Ruby had crossed her arms and was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for Emma to continue.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but as I'm sure you know, I was pretty trashed last night, and I wasn't thinking clearly. I came straight home and went to bed, and I didn't get my phone until this morning. I'm sorry." Emma tried her best to look remorseful, and noticed that Ruby had visibly relaxed. She walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Thank you for always being a good friend and looking after me, even when I'm being stubborn."

Ruby returned the hug tightly. "I was just really worried. I figured that you had freaked out after kissing that guy..."

Emma's stepped back to look at Ruby's face. Concern was etched into her features and Emma could tell that she was telling the truth.

"Wait...what? I kissed who last night?" Emma asked incredulously. It had been almost a year since Neal, and she hadn't really be interested in mingling with members of the opposite sex since then. But she did remember that group of guys buying her shots last night...

"I don't know Emma. It was some random guy who was dressed like Captain Hook or whatever, I don't know. I'll give it to you, though. Out of all the guys that you could have made out with last night, he was definitely one of the hotter ones," Ruby responded with a sly smile at her friend.

Emma tried to process what Ruby had said. More of the holes from the previous night starting filling in. She remembered Ruby pulling her away from the bar to ask her what was going on, and she remembered yelling at her friend about Neal, saying that she wanted to show him just how much fun she could be. Then, almost unbiddingly, flashes of a pirate with a hook for a hand with impossibly blue eyes lined in black appeared in her mind.

She groaned as she placed her face in her hands, realizing that she had fully embarassed herself. It wasn't just a kiss, it was a full on make out session with him. She blushed as she recalled the fact that he had responded to her positively, and was, for lack of a better term, one hell of a kisser.

Ruby, seeing how distressed her friend was over the events of the previous evening, quickly attempted to correct the situation. "I wouldn't worry too much. You didn't tell him your name, you just ran like a frightened little bunny out the door. This is New York. I very much doubt that you will ever see him again."

Emma smiled slightly at that, and realized that she was being a bit ridiculous. Ruby was right. There were millions of people in the city. There was only a slight possibility that she would ever run into this guy again. Feeling energetic, she made her way into the kitchen. "Come on, Ruby. I'll make us some pancakes."

* * *

A few days later, Emma was finishing some things up at the law school. One of her professors had pulled her aside to let her know that she was turning into one of his most promising students and gave her a few depositions to review on the side. Eager at the opportunity to show off her skills, she quickly accepted and took on the role. She was putting away her work when her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a text from Ruby.

_Drinks and a show tonight? No pirates, I promise. - R_

She glared at her phone. Ruby had been bringing up the "hot pirate" all week long. Emma would never agree with her outright, but from what she could remember, he was incredibly sexy. She had spent an obscene amount of time over the last week trying to remember more details about his features, a fact that she would never let slip to Ruby, unless she wanted to teased about it forever.

She thought about the text for moment. Deciding that she needed to take some of the edge off, she texted her yes back to Ruby and started to pack her things up. She wondered what kind of show Ruby had in mind, as she walked out the door into the night.

* * *

Ruby texted her the address for the bar that they were meeting up at. Some place a bit off the beaten path called The Jolly Roger. Emma rolled her eyes, wondering where Ruby found a place like this. She took a cab directly from the school to the bar, where Ruby was waiting outside. Emma looked over the establishment, noticing that it looked a bit seedy. She could hear some music coming from inside, indicating that a band was playing.

"Ruby, where the hell did you find this place," Emma was less than pleased.

"Oh Viktor told me about it. He's gonna meet us here, said he knows the guys in the band," Ruby started rambling on about the conversation she had with this Viktor earlier in the day.

"Woah, back up. Who the hell is Viktor?" Emma demanded. She was starting to get upset.

"Oh, I thought I mentioned him. Well, he was the guy dressed as the doctor at the party last week. He's a student at the med school, so I guess it wasn't really that great of a costume." Ruby rambled on about the supposedly handsome doctor to be, much to Emma's chagrin.

"Whatever, let's just get a drink."

Emma made her way inside, and noticed that place was pretty dead. The band was playing some sort of pop rock type music. The singer had a voice that would make the average girl melt with desire, and Emma was no exception. She had a weakness for singers and guitar players, and this guy was both. She walked to the bar and ordered a drink, turning to face the stage as the bartender walked away. The band was deep into their set, getting a bit more exasperated, she noticed, as they continued to scan the crowd for new bodies.

Ruby joined her at the bar, and once they had gotten their drinks, they chose a table at the back. There were a couple of girls up the front, fawning over the lead singer. From her seat, she could tell that he was definitely handsome, but something about him was bothering her. He looked familiar, and she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before.

The lead singer looked away from the pit of girls in front of him, and desperately scanned the crowd again. His eyes paused for a second on her table, and then widened almost imperceptibly when they saw her. She felt unnerved as he finished out the set, never once moving away from her.

Once the set was over, she walked back to the bar to pick up another drink. Ruby had said that Viktor would be here momentarily, and they could say hello to the band, and then go to the movies.

* * *

She was standing at the bar, waiting for her drink, when she felt a presence behind her. Figuring it was Ruby, she turned around with a quip ready to go. It quickly died on her tongue as she realized it was the singer from the band.

"Hello, love." His thick Irish accent sent delicious chills down her spine. She looked up at his face, and locked her eyes with his. They were a stunningly bright blue. She noticed there was stubble on his chin and he was wearing a damnable smirk across his face. Her face had twisted up in confusion as she tried to place the face of the man standing before her. After a moment, she gasped as she suddenly realized who he was.

And boy, she was in trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you very much for reading, everyone! I really appreciate it. Here's Chapter 4. :)**

* * *

They were about halfway through their set at the _Jolly Roger_, when Killian saw movement at the back of the bar. He sighed internally, wondering what had possessed Jefferson to book this show. The bar was old and dusty, and there was scarcely anyone there, save a few older and unscrupulous women in the front row, swooning at them. He continued to sing, knowing what Jefferson would say if he ever complained about it. _Hey man, a gig is a gig. You never turn down money in your pocket._

He tried to lose himself in his music, not really feeling the atmosphere. He wasn't expecting to just come to New York and become famous, but he had hoped that they wouldn't have been playing at these seedy dives for months, with naught to show for it but a couple of trampy cougars who were holding out, hoping that one of them was desperate enough to come home with them.

At another time, Killian may have taken them up on their offer, but his thoughts had been plagued by a certain blonde princess and her enchanting lips. He had walked back into the club a week ago with the intent on finding himself a companion for the night. Instead, he went back to the bar and spent the rest of the evening cursing himself for not at least getting her name. She was beautiful, more beautiful than a vast majority of the women he usually brought home, and that was saying something. She had kissed him like she was a woman starved. Her lips had been permanently branded into his brain, and he spent the last week thinking of little else.

He had attempted to squash the thoughts with alcohol and women over the past few days, but the outcome was always the same. The women left him mostly unsatisfied and he would awake the next morning with a rotten stomach and a pounding headache. He didn't know what it was about this girl, but he knew that if he didn't have her, he feared he would be ruined for all future conquests.

He needed a distraction. He started to scan the crowd, hoping he could find something, anything to focus on so he could avoid the thoughts of her. He finally noticed two women sitting at one of the tables away from the stage. One of the women had long dark hair that fell in waves down her back. He couldn't see her face, as she was very avidly typing something on her phone. The other woman had long, slightly curly blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail out of her face. She was looking right at him, her face scrunched up in confusion. His eyes widened, and he almost choked on the lyrics as he recognized her face.

_It's her_, he thought. _Holy shit, she's right there._

* * *

They finished the set a short while later. Killian had been watching her the whole time, determined to never let her out of his sight. Once the show was over, he all but threw his guitar down on the stage and jumped off.

"Hey Jones! Where the hell do you think you're going?" Jefferson yelled at him as he was tearing down their equipment. "Unless you're planning on this equipment to pack itself, I suggest you get your ass back here and help out!"

Killian knew better than to test Jefferson when he was obviously in a bad mood, but this was an opportunity that he could not pass up. Not when she was standing at the bar, and he was _so close_ to her again. He turned around to face his friend who was hauling equipment across the stage.

"Sorry mate, I gotta go see a girl." Killian smirked. Jefferson looked like he was about to explode. "Don't worry, this will only take a few minutes."

He continued to walk over to the bar. She was leaning up against the wood, balancing herself on her folded arms on top. Killian took notice of her outfit - a white long sleeved shirt and her long legs were sheathed in a pair of tight, dark jeans, accentuated by the black leather boots that adorned her feet.

He was certain she didn't know what kind of charming display she made. She was a stark contrast to the dark dinginess of the bar, which made her beauty all the more alluring. She was standing in a way that indicated that she wanted to be left alone, however, he was never one to back down from a challenge, especially when he knew what kind of passion lay hidden under her demeanor.

He walked up to the bar, suddenly feeling nervous. He didn't quite know how to process it. He was never nervous around women! They usually flocked to him in droves, and all he had to do was turn on the charm, and he could have any one of them, wet and willing in his bed. But he sensed that she was different, that perhaps his usual tactics might not be the best avenue to get what he wanted.

He found himself standing right behind her, and noticed that she stiffened slightly at his presence. She whipped around smiling, looking as if she were about to say something, until she realized it was him. Her smile fell, and she looked confusedly at him, the same look from earlier, as if she was trying to work something out.

"Hello love," he said, smirking at her. He figured a little charm wouldn't hurt.

A few moments ticked by. He felt like they were the longest moments of his life, and then her eyes widened in shock as she gasped. He smirk changed into a full grin as he realized that she just put two and two together and remembered their little tryst the week prior.

"The name's Killian Jones, love. I trust you remember me from last week?" He grinned as she blushed. He noted that the flush that was rising in her cheeks made her more becoming, and he found himself thinking of all the dirty ways he could keep her looking like that.

"Nope, sorry. I have no idea who you are," She bit out angrily as her eyes narrowed. He could tell she was lying, the embarassement on her face was a dead giveaway. She had crossed her arms across her chest in an effort to guard herself against him.

"See, I'm thinking you do. Hard to forget a face like mine...or a kiss like that. I won't say it's impossible, though. Perhaps a little reminder is in order?" He tapped his lips with a finger as he stepped closer to her, clearly invading her personal space. She tried to move away from him, but he had her cornered up against the bar.

"Yeah, right. In your dreams, pal. I don't know what kind of girls you're used to dealing with, but I'm not one of them. If you want to keep your body parts in tact, I suggest you leave." He noticed she was shaking, thinking that his closeness was having the effect he wanted on her.

Not willing to back down, he placed his hands on the bar on either side of her, effectively trapping her against him. He noticed that she was breathing heavily, her breath coming out in heavy puffs, her eyes wide as she realized how close he was to her. That wonderful blush had crept back up into her cheeks, and he smirked, reveling in the fact that her body was responding to him positively.

"Well, reminder it is then," he said nonchalantly, as he pushed forward and captured her lips with his.

The next thing he realized was a searing fire in his lower abdomen, as her knee connected with his testicles. Twisting up in pain, she easily pushed him off of her as he fell to the floor of the bar. He curled up in a fetal position, his face contorted in anguish as she stalked off. She went back to the table, grabbed her coat, and told Ruby she would have to take a rain check on the movie.

He was still on the floor in pain as she made her way back to the entrance. He was blocking the path to door, so she hopped over him to continue out of the bar. He finally opened his eyes and saw that she was leaving. He tried to get up to go after her, but the lingering pain from her attack kept him on the floor. He beat his fist on the ground next to him and rolled onto his back, his eyes screwed shut as he realized that he just mucked up probably the only chance he would get with her.

* * *

Killian finally made it back to the stage where Jefferson and August had pretty much packed everything up. They were snickering amongst themselves while he went and put his guitar back in the van. He could hear their loud guffaws in the alley way, and he sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was never wrong about women - he could tell that she was interested, very interested in him - but he had never experienced a woman who had spurned his advances, and then top it off with a knee that bruised more than his ego.

He sat on the edge of the van, replaying the scene over in his head. He thought she was just trying to play hard to get, and had missed the cues that she giving him to get lost. He was Killian fucking Jones, for fuck's sake! Women just didn't turn him down.

But he knew she was different. He knew that going in, had even thought about changing his game plan, but all of that went out the window as soon as she started reacting to him. He groaned at the way her body responded. The flush of her cheeks, the labored breathing, even her wide chocolate eyes would prove to be his undoing. And then there was that fire that she possessed. He had seen it tonight, and felt it when they had kissed. He knew that there were so many things he would give up just to be burned by her.

There was only one small problem. He still didn't catch her name.

_Fuck._


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! I apologize for the long wait for the update. I had a lot of personal things come up in the last couple of weeks, and, unfortunately, had to put my writing on hold for a bit. As always, thank you very much for the reviews! Everyone has been extremely nice, and I love all of you for it! 3 Here's the next chapter! Reviews are always welcome. :)**

* * *

After some time, Killian made his way back into the bar. He noticed that his band mates were sitting at a table with their friend Viktor. He didn't know when he arrived, but his spirits lifted when he saw that Viktor was currently charming the young brunette that came with his little blonde spitfire. He smiled slightly, realizing his way to get to her was through her friend. He walked over to the table, noticing a full beer sitting at the empty seat. Before he had a chance to sit down, he was stopped by the woman sitting his opposite.

"Hey, asshole, what the hell do you think you're doing? You can only sit at this table if you haven't mauled my friends." Killian could hear the disdain in her voice, her stare like steel - cold, hard and unforgiving. He attempted to look sheepish, hoping that any show of remorse would endear this woman to him. He knew that the wrong thing said could put an untimely end to the pursuit of her friend.

"Please extend my apologies to your friend for my rude behavior earlier. It was completely out of line, and for that I am truly sorry. I just hope that I will still have the ability to procreate in the future," Killian said charmingly. He noticed that her eyes softened a bit, even though her face still wore the same scowl. She motioned for him to sit down. He took his seat and took a large drink of his beer.

"You have to understand something, Ruby," Jefferson started. "It's not every day that our boy Killian here gets rebuffed in such a way. However, I think I will always treasure the memory of him rolling around in pain as she stepped over him to walk out the door."

Everyone began laughing, with Jefferson the loudest, and he could feel the heat rising on his face. He proceeded to drink more of his beer, hoping the glass would hide the rose colored hue that had undoubtedly made its way into his cheeks.

"I don't care what kind of guy he thinks he is. That's my friend he accosted, and if she hadn't done something about it, I would have myself." Her dark brown eyes flashed menacingly towards him, showing Killian that she would have made good on that promise. He was sure he would have left with more than a bruised ego and a dull ache between his legs.

"Oi, I'm not as bad as you're making me out to be, love." Killian stated, flashing a debonair smile. "I made a mistake, and if I ever come across your friend again, I will make sure to apologize to her formally. But in my defense, she kissed me first."

Everyone stared at him with confused expressions. "How do you figure that one?" asked Ruby, "With exception of Viktor, we all saw what happened."

Killian realized that none of them had recognized that her friend was the same princess that had practically thrown herself at him at the Halloween party last week. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy their reactions.

"We met at the party at the _White Rabbit_ last week," Killian explained.

He could see them slowly working out what that meant. It was Ruby who realized it first, and her face split into a wide grin. "Oh my god! You're the pirate!"

Jefferson and August both looked at her bemused expressions, still trying to figure out what was going on. Viktor looked at Ruby for more of an explanation. Killian proceeded to drink the rest of his beer while Ruby provided the table with a short explanation.

"Vik, he's the one that Emma threw herself at during the party last week."

Killian stopped drinking for a second as he realized what Ruby had said. She probably didn't even realize that she had said it, but now he had a name to put with her face.

_Emma._

* * *

Emma walked through the front door of her apartment, shutting it quickly and locking the deadbolt. She sent a quick text to Ruby to let her know that everything was fine, and that she would meet Viktor some other time.

Leaning against the hard wood, she noticed she felt flushed and was breathing heavily. Even now, that smug bastard was having an effect on her. She wanted to believe that the arousal that arose from the first kiss had more to do with the alcohol than her, but this second kiss, she could scarcely call her self tipsy, and it still left her reeling.

He was a very attractive man, with his slightly unkempt black hair, and the noticeable stubble along his hard jaw line. He was just wearing a tshirt and jeans, and she could tell that he was hiding a hard, lean body underneath his clothes. She had been fighting a mounting attraction for him all night, even before she realized who he was. She had always had a thing for musicians, and he was no exception.

Emma quickly made her way into the bathroom, stripping herself of her clothes and turning the shower on. She needed something to tone down the heat from her skin. When she stepped in, the cool water was a shock to her nerves, but eventually she acclimated to the temperature.

She stood in the shower for some time, reflecting on the events of the evening. In retrospect, she probably shouldn't have kicked him where she did, but she panicked. He was pulling forth feelings that she hadn't felt since she had first met Neal, and she swore that she would never feel those again. They only served as distractions and she couldn't afford to be distracted again.

She tried to shake the image of him from her mind, but his bright blue eyes seemed to permeated her thoughts unbidden, and she could feel herself becoming aroused again. She cursed herself for not having more control over her emotions, and she cursed him for being so god damn gorgeous and having the most delicious accent and the ability to kiss her senseless.

She turned the shower on full blast, hoping that the iciness of the water would clear her head, but it seemed like nothing could quell the thoughts of him. Frustrated, she turned the shower off and stepped out. She wrapped a towel around her body and padded to her bedroom.

She laid down on her bed, foregoing any pajamas in favor of the coolness of her room. She groaned in frustration as she rolled over to her side to attempt to sleep. She hoped that she would never have to see him again. If that was the case, then she could forget about him and continue focusing on her career.

She fell asleep with a slight smile on her face, her resolve in place, but her dreams were filled with a devilishly handsome man with bright blue eyes.

* * *

The slight buzzing her phone roused her from her sleep the following morning. She rolled over, annoyed, when she saw that Ruby had texted her.

_Party tonight at my place. You in? - R_

Emma sighed. She wanted to say no, feeling too worn down for a party, but since she bailed last night, it would probably be better to just go and suck it up. Ruby was one of her best friends, but didn't always take to well to Emma's anti-social tendencies. Ruby would have found a way to get Emma to the party, and she just preferred the path of least resistance.

_Sure thing. Be there after class. - E_

She pulled herself out of bed to get ready for class. She quickly dressed herself and made sure to pack some clothing for the party. Ruby liked to make sure that everyone dressed up, so she grabbed a short red dress and some black platform heels. She had woken up early, so she figured that she would at least have some extra time to study before class.

She made her way out the door and towards the campus.

* * *

Emma arrived at Ruby's apartment a little after 8. She let herself in with the spare key that Ruby kept under the door mat and was greeted by her friend frantically cleaning up her apartment. Shaking her head, it was just like Ruby to the last possible second to clean everything. Her friend was running around, looking disheveled as she picked up the clothing and papers that littered on the floor.

Emma set her back down by the door and started helping Ruby pick things up. Her movement caused Ruby to pause and look at her before smiling gratefully. They managed to get everything put away in the bedroom, and anyone would be none the wiser. Emma ushered Ruby towards the shower to get cleaned up. She was grateful her friend hadn't asked her about her abrupt departure for last night. She had buried herself into her work and her classes today just to keep from thinking about a certain musician.

She picked up her bag and went into the bedroom to change. She slipped on her dress, and sat down at the vanity to get started on her hair and makeup. She was about halfway through her hair when Ruby came in from the bathroom. Emma turned back to look in the mirror, trying to give her friend a little privacy, but it was more for her comfort than Ruby's, her friend anything but shy.

A while later, Emma looked back at her reflection in the mirror. She felt pleased with herself - her hair fell in soft waves down her back, and her makeup was impeccable. The form fitting red dress accentuated her curves. She turned around and saw ruby was wearing a black sheath dress and she had pulled her wet hair back in an elegant knot at the back of her neck. She shooed Emma away from the vanity so that she could finish getting ready.

Emma walked into the kitchen and saw the counters littered with alochol, mixers and a various assortment of snacks. She straightened everything out so that it looked neat, and placed all of the snacks out on the dining room table. She had just finished laying out the plates and napkins when the doorbell rang.

"Emma, would you mind getting that?" Ruby called from the bedroom. Emma quickly pulled on her platforms and gave her hair a quick fluff before walking to the door. Ruby had the parties every once in a while, but always managed to invite random people from the hotel that she worked at downtown. Emma didn't really know what to expect when she opened the door, but prepared for the worst.

Nothing, however, could have prepared her for the pair of blue eyes that met hers when she finally swung the door open.

_Shit._


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Here's Chapter 6! I just want to thank all of you for reading this, and for reviewing! Your reviews make me so happy. Enjoy!**

* * *

Killian paced around his apartment wearing a path through the carpet. He glanced at the clock, the bright red numbers seemingly mocking his distress. It was only 8:15. Ruby advised not to arrive until after 9 PM. He ran a hand through his hair and resumed the frantic pacing. He was nervous.

He felt off at the realization. He hadn't been nervous in...well, since he had met _her._ It had been five years since he had met Milah. He was bright-eyed young man of 23 at the time, full of hope and promise. He didn't have many dealings with the opposite sex, preferring to keep to his music. He had been playing at a small bar downtown when she waltzed into the place like she owned it, sensuality oozing from every fiber of her being.

He knew that she was older by the way that she carried herself, and he felt drawn to her mysteriousness. He noticed throughout his performance that her eyes were trained on him, and when he was finished, he felt himself walking towards her despite his misgivings towards women. He offered to buy her a drink, and within moments she had him wrapped around her finger. He was desperate for this woman, and would have followed her anywhere.

Being so naive about the opposite sex, Killian was caught up in her lust. He wasn't a virgin by any stretch, but he had never quite handled a woman of Milah's caliber. At first, he was enraptured with her, completely content on doing whatever it was that she had asked. But after some time, he began to notice the strange things about their relationship. She would only see him under her terms, usually during the day or the odd weekend here and there. She never divulged any personal information, and never asked about him. She was all business all the time. She would come over and beg him to fuck her and then leave without so much as a goodbye.

He didn't know what to do with her, so he did what he thought was best. After one afternoon lovemaking session, he mustered up his courage and confessed that he was in love with her. She was in the process of getting dressed when she stopped and laughed. _She laughed._ When she was done, she told him that he was nothing but a plaything to her, someone to scratch an itch when her husband wasn't doing it for her. He had given her his heart, and she crushed it underneath her designer heel.

She walked out of his life that day, never to be seen again. Killian spent the next few weeks in hell, his heart aching for woman who only wanted him for sex, and he had been too in love with her to realize it. After that moment, he swore he would never let a woman get that close to him again, preferring the one night stand method to get what he wanted.

He never wanted to get close to any of the random girls he had fucked, but this fiery blonde had managed to crawl under his skin in a matter of days, and had comfortably taken up residence in his head. Often throughout the day, he would catch himself thinking about the kiss they shared at the party. He remembered the feel of her lithe body pressed against his as she kissed him like a woman starved. He remembered how his lips had tingled slightly even after she left.

Restless, he sat on the couch and looked through his text messages. The most recent one was from Jefferson, letting him know that they would be at his apartment around 8:45 and they would walk to Ruby's place. Killian was surprised to find out that she lived only a few blocks away from him, considering how vast the city was.

Once Ruby had realized who he was the night before, her demeanor had instantly changed. She was excited about finding the guy that her friend had been obsessing about for the past week. That had confirmed Killian's earlier suspicions that she was just as affected by him as he was by her.

He didn't learn much in the way of helpful information about his girl, other than the fact that her name was Emma Swan, she was in her third year at NYU law and she had spent the last week trying to convince herself that the kiss at the party did not affect her in any way. Ruby knew when her friend was in denial, and relished at the opportunity to fix her up with someone as hot as Killian. She invited the group to a party at her apartment the following evening, positive that she could ensure Emma's presence.

On their way out of the bar, Ruby had pulled him away from the group and warned him about the dangers of getting involved with Emma.

"If you break her heart, you will wish you had never met me." He felt ashamed that he had actually cowered before the slip of a girl, but the fierceness in her eyes dictated that she was definitely not one to be trifled with. He exclaimed that he had no intentions of breaking her heart, but didn't mention the fact that he only interested in fucking her and moving on, feeling that revealing that bit of information might no ingratiate himself with her friend.

Killian looked back at the clock. The numbers now red 8:40 and his nervousness increased. This was definitely not a good sign. He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a shot of rum, downing it quickly. He hoped the rum would help take the edge off, and he could be his smooth, suave self around her.

A few moments later, he heard a knock at the door. He took another shot before he moved to open the door. He saw Jefferson, August and Viktor on the other side, all grinning stupidly at him. He grabbed his coat as they made their way into the cool night.

* * *

They had reached Ruby's apartment around 9:20, and Killian felt his nerves bubbling back up, despite the earlier rum. Killian took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock. He could hear muffled yelling from inside the apartment, and then the locks shifted. The door was pulled open and he saw his girl standing before him. Luckily, had had enough control to not drop his jaw at the sight of her.

She was wearing a form fitting red dress that rode high on her long, shapely legs, which were only accentuated by the towering heels that she wore on her feet. Her long blonde hair fell in wavy curls down her back. Her lips were painted a bright red, and almost had him groaning. He was a sucker for a pair of red lips, and he couldn't help but wonder how they would look wrapped around his cock.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed that the look of surprise on her face was quickly replaced with a look of pure loathing. "You," she spat. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Killian frowned at the tone of her voice. She obviously was still a bit raw from their last encounter, and he knew that his task was only going to be that much harder. Ruby had provided him with an 'in' but it was up to him to convince her.

"I just happened to be invited, lass. Now are you going to stand here shooting daggers at me all night, or can I come in?" He smiled flirtatiously at her, and noticed a small change in her demeanor before she quickly put the walls back up.

"Not a chance in hell." She shut the door in his face and put the locks back into place. He stared back at his friends, and shrugged his shoulders. He could hear some yelling from inside the apartment, and then her heard the door opening again, this time Ruby had come to answer.

"I'm sorry about that guys. As I'm sure you know, Emma was not too pleased that pirate boy here had shown up." She opened the door wide and allowed them into her apartment. They took in her home, and realized that Ruby was considerably well off. She didn't have an apartment so much as a flat, complete with a full sized kitchen, living room and dining area. Killian was trying to make sense of it, since he was fairly certain that Ruby worked in a restaurant, when she answered the question for him.

"I'm sure you're wondering about the place. Well my dad used to be a prominent stock broker here before he died, and he left a considerable sum of money to me as well as his flat. I only work at the diner so that I'm not bored silly doing nothing all day." She smiled and made her way towards the kitchen. "Would anyone like a drink while we wait? There's going to be a few more people showing up."

Killian was about to respond when he saw Emma walking back towards the living room, a scowl marring her otherwise beautiful face. She begrudgingly walked towards him and sighed as she held out her hand. Killian looked at it, confused.

"You're supposed to shake it, asshole."

He stuck his hand in hers, noticing how perfectly her small hand fit within his larger one. He felt the smooth skin along her wrist, and smiled when she slightly shuddered at his touch. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Killian Jones." He smirked at her, noticing again that her resolve fell slightly.

"The pleasure is all mine, no doubt," she drawled sarcastically. "Emma Sawn." She shook his hand briefly and then introduced herself to the rest of the group. He felt disappointed when he saw that she had dropped the scowl in favor of a bright smile when she spoke with his friends. He made it his sole purpose to get her to smile like that at him by the end of the evening.

Ruby had returned with the drinks, when there came another knock at the door. More people poured in when she answered it, and Killian soon found himself in the middle of a full blown party.

* * *

He had been trying to get her alone all night. He was aware that she had been purposefully going out of her way to ignore him, and that she was getting progressively more drunk as the night went on. He finally gave up and took a seat away from the festivities content for now with watching her from afar.

He noticed that she greeted all of the other guest warmly, going so far as to flirt with some of the other men. He felt a pang in his chest when he realized that her loathing was for him and him alone. The more she drank, the more involved she became with the guests, never once sparing a look in his direction. He felt hurt knowing that he had probably lost his chance with her, and that even though her friend was on board with him, she clearly wasn't.

Watching her flirt with other men had left him reeling, though. He couldn't explain why it had affected him so strongly, but he had to restrain himself from walking over to her and drag her out of the room away from them. Some part of his brain recognized the feelings as jealously, but he quickly squashed them. What did he have to be jealous for? He was Killian Jones, and he would just let her come to him.

When the last of the guests left, it was just him and his friends, Ruby and Emma. Ruby was snuggled up on the couch with Viktor completely oblivious to what was happening around her. Both Jefferson and August were passed out on various pieces of furniture, and Emma was completely intoxicated, dancing around the living room to some music that had been left playing. Ruby was roused from her stupor when Emma began singing loudly and off-key.

She moved from the couch and walked over to Killian. She quickly explained that she and Viktor were going to bed, but that everyone was welcome to crash here for the night. She motioned to the spare room at the end of the hallway, letting him know that the guest bedroom was made up for Emma whenever she decided to pass out. Killian nodded and she walked off hand in hand with Viktor.

Killian had waited all night to be alone with her, and now she couldn't even string two words together. He sighed as he watched her dance around the living room without a care in the world. He had hoped that he could start winning her over tonight, and hopefully have her in his bed in a few days time. But evidently, the elusive Emma Swan had other plans.

A few minutes later, she had finally stopped singing and sat on the couch. Her eyes were starting to droop, and she was fighting to stay awake. Killian knew it was time to put the girl to bed, even though he hadn't spent one minute alone with her all night.

When she had fallen asleep, Killan scooped her up gently in his arms and carried her to the room opposite Ruby's. Her blonde hair was brushing gently against his arms as she snuggled up against his chest during their short trek. He noticed how calm she looked in his arms, belying her aggressive and forthcoming nature. He appreciated the dichotomy and knew that fierceness would be amazing to witness in a more intimate setting, but the peacefulness about her made her more appealing. Once he managed to get into the room, he laid her down gently on the bed and covered her with blankets.

Even in the dark, she looked stunning. Her golden hair shined in the moonlight, and Killian could feel his heart clench at the sight of her. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid his eyes on. He gently brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen in her face, and reveled in how soft it felt against his calloused fingers. Her lips had parted slightly as she breathed deeply, signaling to him that she was completely asleep.

He felt a tightening in his chest, something he hadn't felt in years, but he quickly buried it, attempting to remain focused on his task - bed Emma Swan and move past her onto better conquests.

He turned and walked out of the room, catching one last glimpse at her sleeping form before closing the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! Here is chapter 7! I know, two updates in 24 hours, it's amazing! Your reviews keep me going. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Emma woke with a start, shooting straight up in bed and taking in her surroundings. She scanned the room in confusion until she realized where she was. She sighed with relief as she laid back down on her pillow. Her head was pounding and her mouth was dry, and there was an unfortunate rumbling in her stomach that indicated that she was both hungry and nauseous. She glanced at the clock. It read 7:20 in bright red numbers. She knew that Ruby would still be asleep, but she was hungry and needed to eat if she wanted to settle her stomach.

She rolled out of bed and noticed that she was still in the dress that she had worn the night before. She groaned as she remembered the amount of liquor that she drank. She had been more than aware that there was a gorgeous Irishman watching her the whole time. She felt his heated gaze on her most of the night, and it made her feel nervous in a way that she was unaccustomed to. If she were completely honest with herself, it turned her on to know that she had his undivided attention even if she was pretending he didn't exist. In an effort to push down the feelings of arousal, she drank until she could barely stand on her feet.

Her stomach growled loudly as she walked over to dresser. Ruby always kept extra clothes in there just in case someone needed to change in the morning. She settled on a pair of blue jean shorts and a light blue v-neck tshirt, grateful that she was roughly the same size as her friend. She pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail and walked out the door to the bathroom.

She stopped on her way when she caught the scent of coffee wafting down the hall from the kitchen. She looked at the closed door in front of her, indicating that Ruby was indeed asleep as she turned her head back towards the living room. She quickly popped her head in the bathroom to make sure that her makeup hadn't smeared all over her face and tiptoed down the hall. She walked around the corner and stopped in her tracks.

That insufferable man - Killian Jones, she remembered - was standing in the kitchen facing away from her, shirtless. She watched wide-eyed as the muscles in his back bunched up as he pulled the coffee mug to his face. She stood frozen staring at him. She knew that he was fit, she had felt his body both of the times they had kissed, but seeing it was an entirely different story. He was very lean, but did not appear scrawny, his back and arms completely toned and defined.

The arousal that she had been trying to bury deep inside came bubbling up as she stood staring. She couldn't help herself, he was a gorgeous specimen. It was entirely unfair that he was that attractive and also the world's biggest pain in the ass. She frowned at that thought. Ruby seemed to like him, even though she had witnessed him assaulting her at the bar. She knew her friend; she wasn't someone to forgive and forget. Ruby could hold grudges forever. But something must have happened after she left that allowed Ruby to put her faith in him.

Completely lost in thought, Emma didn't notice that he had turned around and caught her blatant perusal of his body. He smirked, knowing full well what kind of effect he was having on her, the flush of her cheeks a dead giveaway. "See something you like, love?" he asked, as he brought the mug to his smiling lips.

His voice quickly pulled her out of her reverie, and her eyes went wide. She could feel herself blushing even more as the look of suprise melted away into a scowl. She crossed her arms in front of her chest in a feeble attempt to bolster her authority. "What the hell are you still doing here?" she demanded.

She was going to smack that stupid smirk off his face. He didn't answer her; instead, he brought the mug slowly back to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. She faltered slightly, taken aback by the sensuality of him drinking coffee. She almost lost her resolve completely when he licked his lips in appeared to be an attempt to get the cream that lingered on his upper lip.

"Good morning to you too, lass. Good to know that this is the thanks I get for making sure you got off to bed alright." He drank from his mug again. Emma was convinced that him drinking coffee should be made illegal. She then registered what he had said. Her brow furrowed in confusion, not fully recalling her trip to the bedroom. She was acutely aware of a pair of strong arms carrying her, but she never would have guessed he had been kind enough to make sure she didn't end up passing out on the floor.

"Don't worry, love. I didn't do anything ungentlemanly, I promise. Though it was very tempting." He winked at her and walked past her into the living room. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she watched in silence as he pulled his tshirt over his head. She sighed as she begrudgingly made her way over to him. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to face her.

"Thank you for making sure that I ended up in a bed last night, instead of facedown on the floor." She stuck out her hand for him to shake. She felt nervous as he looked down at her hand and then back at her face, a solemn look on his face.

"Emma, I know that we haven't really gotten off on the right foot, but I want to apologize for the way I behaved at the bar the other night. I was completely out of line. My antics were that of an idiot, and I hope that you will forgive me." He pulled her hand to his lips, and brushed a featherlike kiss across her knuckles. Her heart raced in her chest as she stared him, but quickly snapped her resolve back into place.

"Don't think you're off the hook with a fancy apology. You're lucky all you got was a swift kick in the balls," she exclaimed angrily. She withdrew her hand from his grasp and walked back into the spare bedroom.

Once the door was shut, she let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She felt hot, damning him for having this kind of affect on her yet again. She knew that she should be angry at him, but all she could think about was him kissing her with the same soft lips that had left a lasting impression on the back of her hand. She crawled back into bed and pulled the blanket over her head in an effort to block out any thoughts of the man currently lounging out in the living room.

* * *

She emerged several hours later, once she had heard Ruby's door open across the hall. She waited until she could hear talking in the living room before she ventured out again. She had packed up all of her things and felt that it was time to get back home. She was happy it was Saturday, because it meant that she had no classes and could get some much needed work done around her apartment.

She said goodbye to Ruby, letting her know that she would return the clothes after she had washed them and made her way down the steps to the street. She started walking towards her apartment when she heard footsteps coming up fast behind her. She moved to the side of the sidewalk to give the runner some space to move past her when suddenly they came to a stop right next to her. She looked up and saw that damnable man walking next to her. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at him incredulously.

"So what, are you following me now?" she demanded to know.

"Hardly. My apartment happens to be in this direction, and I figured you could use the company." He flashed her a smile.

"I don't need any company. I am perfectly capable of walking back to my apartment by myself in the middle of the day." She turned away from him and walked off. She surpressed a growl when he fell into step beside her, clearly not deterred by her annoyance. She walked a few more feet before she rounded on him again.

"What's it going to take to get you to leave me alone?" she asked. She was so fed up with him, even though he was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. She saw his eyes twinkle as he smiled wide.

"Go out with me tonight."

She stared at him in shock. Did he seriously just ask her out?

"One date, that's all I ask. Then I will leave you alone."

She sighed as she felt her resolve cracking. This guy was providing her with an out. Go on a date with him, and she would never have to see him again. And then she could finally put him from her mind and focus on becomging a lawyer like she should be doing. He was staring at her expectantly and she realized that she hadn't given him an answer.

"Fine, one date. But then you get the hell out of my life." His face lit up, and she noted his how his happiness gave way to boyish charm that was incredibly endearing. She gave him her address and told him to pick her up at 8 pm sharp. She walked off before he had a chance to say anything, wondering what the hell she was getting herself into.

* * *

Killian was nervous again. He had been anxiously waiting all afternoon in his apartment. He felt like time was ticking by at a snail's pace, and nothing he could do would make it go by any faster. He was thoughtlessly strumming his guitar in the living room, willing himself to not look at the clock anymore.

There was something about her that continued to draw him in. She had stubbornly spurned his advances repeatedly, and still he continued to crave her. If she had been just another girl, he would have moved on, but she was special, unique. He needed to taste heaven with her and would not be satisfied until he claimed her. That was something he knew for certain. What he couldn't figure out was why he was nervous. He didn't get nervous around the opposite sex, not anymore, but this girl always seemed to drag out the naive boy that had been buried deep inside of him the day that Milah broke his heart.

He absentmindedly plucked out a melody on his guitar in an attempt to get his mind of her. He tried a few different variations of the same note progression until he fingered one that made sense. He rather liked the way it sounded so he wrote down the notes on a stray piece of paper. He continued to pluck out more of the melody, pleased that he had come up with something different. He would need to play it for the guys later and get their thoughts on it.

He glanced back at the clock and found that only five minutes had gone by since the last time he looked. The clock read 6:47 PM, its large numbers seemingly mocking him for the hundredth time that day. He put his guitar down and made his way to the shower. He had been sitting on the couch all day and was in desperate need of cleaning.

He turned the shower on full blast and divested himself of his clothing. He stepped in and let the hot water soothe the tight muscles from playing his guitar all afternoon. His thoughts drifted back to Emma. Tonight was the night that he sealed the deal. She had agreed to go out with him alone, and he knew that he just needed to make her want him as much as he wanted her, and it would be done.

He finished up with his shower and walked towards his bedroom, his towel slung low on his hips. He hadn't really planned on what he was going to do with her, but he figured it would be better as something less formal. He settled on a pair of tight jeans, a white button down shirt and a black vest. He dressed himself quickly and then rolled up the sleeves on the shirt trying to achieve a more casaul look.

He walked back to the bathroom and ran his fingers through his already drying hair. Deciding against his normal bed head look, he he squirted some gel into his hands and style his hair to the right, only ruffling it slightly. He had forgone shaving his face, knowing that the women in the past preferred the stubble, and he had hoped that she would feel the same.

He finished getting ready in a matter of minutes and walked back out into the living room. He saw that it was now 7:15. Unable to wait any longer to get the evening started, he walked out his door and into the cool night air. He made his way in the direction of her apartment. If he had his way, tonight would be the night, and Emma would be his


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again everyone! Here's part 8! Thanks to everyone who has followed/favorited this story so far, and a very special thanks to all the reviews!**

* * *

Emma was pacing. She hated the fact that she was feeling flustered already and he hadn't even arrived yet. She stalked to the bathroom to check her appearance again. She gave herself a once over and realized that she looked like she tried too hard. She was wearing a form fitting black sweater dress, black leather boots and she had curled her hair again, letting it fall down her back. Not wanting to give him the wrong impression, she walked back to her bedroom and proceeded to change her clothes.

Deciding on something more demure, she grabbed a pair of jeans, and a white sweater. She decided to keep the black boots she was wearing, sliding them over her pants legs up to her knee. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She walked back into the bathroom and felt pleased with the effect. She looked more like she was going out with her friends than on a date. She shuddered slightly at the thought of this being misconstrued as a date.

However, she was enjoying all of the attention he seemed to be paying her, even if she wasn't willing to reciprocate. It wasn't every day that you had an exceptionally handsome man essentially stalk you just so he could take you out. But she also hoped that he would keep his word after tonight, and she would never have to see him again. He was already becoming too much of a distraction, and he just seemed like the type to "love 'em and leave 'em" and she didn't want to get caught up in his game.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when a knock game at the front door. She crossed the expanse of her apartment in a few steps and slid the locks back across the door. She wasn't surprised to see Killian standing on her landing, but she was taken aback by just how amazing he looked. His vest seemed like it was tailored to him, and his pants clearly outlined exactly how well endowed he was. She gulped noticeably, and he smirked at her, his tousled hair falling into his eyes. Her fingers itched to push it back away from his face, and it took almost all of her willpower to restrain herself.

"Ready to go, love?" she blinked at him confusedly. He held his hand outstretched before her and gave her a questioning look. She blushed, as she ducked back into her apartment to grab her jacket to brace herself from the cool night air. She locked the door behind her as she stepped out onto the landing. She didn't wait for him as she made her way outside. He followed her silently, but she couldn't tell that he was annoyed. _Oh well_ she thought. _Better that he's annoyed. He'll be more likely to stay away then._

They made their way into the street, and she looked at him expectantly. He sighed as he pointed her in the right direction. She started walking, and it wasn't long before he fell into stride beside her. She glanced over at him and noticed that he had his hands in his pockets, and looked more like a lost boy than the arrogant jerk that she had been exposed to in their previous encounters. His hesitation almost endeared him to her, but she quickly strengthened her resolve that this man was an egotistical asshole, and she would only have to put up with him for one more night.

* * *

He had been expecting her haughtiness. He could handle her superiority complex. He could not handle the awkward silence that hung around them like a cloud. She was trying to remain as closed off as possible, which was all fine and well considering his plan, but the silence was killing him.

He quickly closed the gap between them, brushing against her arm. Her face furrowed into a scowl, and she looked at him, silently telling him to keep his distance. He smirked, glad that he was already having some kind of effect on her.

"I hope you like Italian, love," he offered, attempting to break the silence.

He saw her features relax, and he could have sworn there was a slight smile ghosting on her lips. After their exchange earlier, he immediately went back to Ruby and told her all about their date. He remembered the pang of guilt that he felt when Ruby squealed, happy that her friend was going out with someone. He felt even worse when she let him know that Emma's favorite food was fettuccine alfredo, and he had every intention of using it to his advantage.

"It's fine," she returned in clipped tones, but the sparkle in her eyes gave way to how she truly felt about the upcoming meal. Emboldened by her response, he pressed her futher into conversation.

"So Ruby tells me you're a law student?" She stopped and looked at him incredulously. He was sure he looked just as confused as he felt. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.

"What the hell are you trying to pull? I agreed to go out with you so that you would leave me alone, not so that we would become all buddy buddy." Killian almost backed down at her tone, but he had a mission, and would see it through.

"Well, excuse me. Some people might call it polite conversation, but obviously you don't know what that looks like since you attack anyone that might show any interest in you," he countered. He noticed that her cheeks turned red from her anger, and decided that her angry was much more attractive. He felt twisted knowing that he was more aroused by her yelling than he had been with most of the girls he had been with in the last year.

"Ha! Polite conversation would imply that you are polite company, and that, you most assuredly, are not. This was a mistake, I'm going back home. Make sure you don't follow me."

She turned and started walking away from him. He saw his opportunity slipping steadily through his fingers, and knew that he needed to fix this and fast. He jogged until he was standing right in front of her, cutting her off.

"Okay, Swan, I am just trying to make this evening go by smoothly. Eat dinner, have a few laughs, and then I will be out of your hair. That should be a good enough reason for you to put up with me for a few hours. Unless, of course, my devilishly handsome face intimidates you." He lifted an eyebrow in a challenge.

She sighed, but she didn't make more movement away from him. He smiled in relief, grabbing a hold of her hand and lacing it in his. She tried to pull away, but he refused to let her go. "Oh no, I am a gentleman, and as a gentleman, it is a my duty to escort a lady to our destination so that no harm befalls her." He winked rougishly at her.

She rolled her eyes, and walked with her arm in his. Feeling on air, he smiled down at the blonde on his arm. In all her stubbornness, he couldn't help but feel immensely attracted to her, and he knew that, in another time, a girl like her would be the ruin of him.

Emma was surprised that Killian kept true to his word. Throughout dinner he was a perfect gentlemen, opening the doors for her and holding out her chair at the table. He listened with rapt attention any time that she spoke, and it shook her confidence. Neal had always seemed distracted, only half listening to what she said, and it always felt like his mind was on anything but her. Killian was the exact opposite. He seemed eager to learn more about her, and that unnerved her.

She had successfully managed to steer the conversation back to him during dinner. She found out that he had grown up in Ireland, coming to America at 17 to attend university in Boston as an exchange student, and lived there until about 6 months ago, when he moved to the city with the other members of his band. He told her that he had majored in English and how he had always wanted to be a writer, but was content, for the time being, writing the lyrics for the band's songs. And she found out that his mother had died giving birth to him, and his father had left sometime later, leaving his older brother to raise him.

Emma felt her chest tighten as he told his story, knowing full well what it was like to lose parents. Her parents had left her on the side of the road as a baby, never to be seen or heard from again. She had spent her whole life in the foster system, listening to people tell her that she would never amount to anything. She focused on proving them wrong, and because of that resolve, was now almost finished with her law degree. The more Killian Jones spoke, the more she realized that, in another time, she could have really fallen for him. But circumstances as they currently were, she couldn't afford to have someone like him in her life, not when she was so close to having everything that she wanted.

She didn't realize that she had been lost in thought until Killian started waving his hands in front of her face. She blinked, knowing that she had probably been ignoring him for several minutes. "What's up?" she asked.

"I was just asking if there was something wrong with your pasta. You've hardly touched any of it. I can see if there's something else we can get?" He was definitely turning the charm on thick tonight, and Emma was having a difficult time holding it together. He would be the death of her, she would bet on it.

"No, the pasta is fine. I guess I'm just not that hungry." He arched an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. She noticed that he had already finished his meal, and was waiting for her to finish as well. Not wanting to hold him up any longer than necessary, she flagged the waiter to bring her a carryout box for the remainder of her meal.

* * *

Once Killian had paid, Emma found herself regretting that the night was almost over. If she was being honest with herself, it had been nice having someone as attractive as him pay attention to her. She had forgotten what it was like to be around the opposite sex in that capcity, and it almost frightened her how attracted she was to him. But no matter, she would be rid of him in a few minutes time. They had walked a few blocks away from the restaurant, and she stopped them at the mouth of an alley.

"I can walk back from here, Jones. Thank you for the dinner." She turned to walk away from him, but he caught her around the wrist, forcing her to face back towards him.

"It was my pleasure, Swan, but perhaps some gratitude is in order? For old times' sake." He winked at her as he gently tapped his lips.

Her eyes widened when she recognized what he meant. Of course, that's what he would want. Never mind that he spent the whole evening being every bit of the gentleman he claimed to be. As soon as their evening concluded, he reverted back to the womanizer that she had come to know him as. Every meeting that she has had with this man has ended up in some sort of weird make out session, and he apparently didn't think tonight would be any different.

She squared up her shoulders, trying to make herself appear bolder than she actually felt, as her eyes narrowed into slits. "Please, Jones. You couldn't handle it."

He moved until he was standing right in front of her, his chest almost pressing against her, his breath hot as it teased her lips. She felt her lips part, and she wet them with her tongue, never once breaking eye contact with him.

"Perhaps you are the one that couldn't handle it." She watched as he curled his tongue behind his teeth, and silently challenge her to back down. The way that he was looking at her was almost predatory, and the heat of her arousal was seriously clouding her judgment. She knew the was baiting her, and for once, she found that she didn't care.

She grabbed his vest, pulling him towards her, as she slammed her lips against his.


End file.
